The number of New York City school safety agents has dropped 28% since 2020, according to new data.
In 2023, Campus Safety reported that NYC school safety agents were down 20% — from about 5,000 in Feb. 2020 to 3,900 in Feb. 2023. As of Feb. 2025, that number stands at around 3,600, according to data from the Independent Budget Office. Chalkbeat New York notes K-12 enrollment has also dropped 11% since Feb. 2020.
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School safety agents are unarmed but uniformed New York Police Department (NYPD) employees. Various factors have reportedly driven the declines, including high attrition during the pandemic due to COVID vaccine mandates, decreased hiring, and a $37,000 annual starting salary.
Some campuses have seen their school safety agents cut in half or more in recent years, according to an open letter from more than 120 school leaders and employees that was sent to the NYPD and Education Department officials in November. The letter calls on the city to hire more agents and replace broken metal detectors.
NYC Schools Rely on School Safety Agents to Monitor Metal Detectors, Arrival and Dismissal
Chalkbeat reports large high school campuses that depend on safety agents to operate metal detectors have been hit the hardest as they often do not have enough staff to run the machines, making students late for class as they wait in long lines.
“Long lines, whether during morning entry or after drills, increase frustration among students, heightening safety risks such as line-cutting and student conflicts,” the letter said.
School leaders also say there aren’t enough agents at some schools to conduct perimeter patrols during arrival and dismissal, which is when altercations are more likely to occur.
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Last month, a 16-year-old student at the John F. Kennedy High School in the Bronx was stabbed just outside the school near an area that used to be patrolled by safety agents.
“It’s a question of prevention. If an adult is standing there in an NYPD uniform, there is a much lower probability that the violent incident happens,” Mark House, principal at JFK’s Bronx Engineering and Technology Academy, told Chalkbeat.
NYPD Vows to Hire Assistant School Safety Agents
To address the shortage, the NYPD unveiled a new plan in 2023 to hire “assistant” agents as young as 18, according to Chalkbeat. Police officials indicated they planned to hire at least 650 assistant agents at an annual salary of about $33,000. They would help greet visitors, monitor doorbells, and answer phones.
Officials suggested the recent high school graduates would first be placed in elementary schools and could create a pipeline into becoming a school safety agent after turning 21 and passing an exam, the Gothamist reports.
During a City Council hearing Tuesday, officials said the NYPD has not hired anyone for these positions.
“We don’t yet have the use of that title,” said Kristine Ryan, the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Management and Budget.
A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams said the delay was caused in part by the need for state officials to approve the new title, noting it was cleared in January and hiring should start soon.
